1st Edition

Local Government Management Current Issues and Best Practices

By Douglas J. Watson, Wendy L. Hassett Copyright 2003
    440 Pages
    by Routledge

    440 Pages
    by Routledge

    Some of the very best writings on issues involving local government can be found in journals published by the American Society for Public Administration or journals with which ASPA is associated. This volume includes thirty of the most outstanding articles that have been published over the past sixty years in these journals. Local Government Management is an ideal supplement for any course in local management and administration, whether the audience is students or practicing professionals.

    Series Information; List of Illustrations; Part 1. Relations Between Elected Officials and Professional Staff; 1. The Manager is a Politician Karl A. Bosworth; 2. The City Manager: Professional Helping Hand, or Political Hired Hand? Richard Stillman; 3. The Mayor as a Policy Leader in the Council-Manager Form of Government: A View From the Field Nelson Wikstrom; 4. Dichotomy and Duality: Reconceptualizing the Relationship Between Policy and Administration in Council-Manager Cities James H. Svara; 5. City Managers: Will They Reject Policy Leadership? James M. Banovetz; 6. A Case for Reinterpreted Dichotomy of Politics and Administration as a Professional Standard in Council-Manager Government Robert S. Montjoy and Douglas J. Watson; 7. The Shifting Boundary Between Elected Officials and City Managers in Large Council-Manager Cities James H. Svara; Part 2. Using Tax Dollars Wisely: Budgeting and Financial Management; 8. Financial Management: A Balancing Act for Local Government Chief Financial Officers W. Bartley Hildreth; 9. Budget Reform and Political Reform: Conclusions from Six Cities Irene S. Rubin; 10. Budgetary Balance: The Norm, Concept, and Practice in Large U.S. Cities Carol W. Lewis; 11. Analyzing How Local Governments Establish Service Priorities Aimee L. Franklin and Brandi Carberry-George; 12. State and Local Governments as Borrowers: Strategic Choices and the Capital Market W. Bartley Hildreth; 13. Litigation Costs, Budget Impacts, and Cost Containment Strategies: Evidence from California Cities Susan A. MacManus; Part 3. The Changing World of Public Personnel Management; 14. Municipal Government Personnel Systems: A Test of Two Archetypical Models Slegrun Fox Freyss; 15. Affirmative Action in Municipal Government: Anatomy of a Failure Steve Ballard and Gayle Lawn-Day; 16. Explaining the Tenure of Local Government Managers Richard Feiock and Christopher Stream; 17. What Municipal Employees Want From Their Jobs Versus What They Are Getting Carole L. Jurkiewicz and Tom K. Massey; 18. Managerial Responses to an Aging Municipal Workforce Jonathan P. West and Evan M. Berman; 19. Performance Appraisal Practices for Upper Management in City Governments David N.

    Biography

    Douglas J. Watson is the city manager of the City of Auburn, Alabama, and a visiting professor at Auburn University. He has served as Auburn city manager since 1982 and holds a master of public administration from the University of Georgia and a doctorate from Auburn. He is the author or editor of five books and over thirty journal articles. Dr. Watson serves on the editorial boards of four journals, including the Public Administration Review and State and Local Government Review. He is the recipient of a number of honors for his work, including the National Public Service Award from the American Society for Public Administration and the L.P. Cookingham Award for Career Development and the Orin F. Nolting International Award from the International City/County Management Association.

    Wendy L. Hassett has ten years of experience in local government management, currently as the assistant city manager of the City of Auburn, Alabama. She holds a master of public administration degree and a doctorate in public administration and public policy from Auburn University. She is co-author of articles in Public Administration Review, Public Works Management and Policy, and Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management. She has written a chapter in the forthcoming book, Gender and Work in Comparative Perspective and co-written a chapter in Innovative Governments: Creative Approaches to Local Problems.